Iranian Media Told to Portray Hormuz Threats as Part of U.S. Talks Strategy

Iran’s authorities have instructed editors and media managers to avoid any suggestion of weakness or internal division in coverage of talks with the United States. According to a directive reported yesterday, Saturday, by Iran International, outlets were told to stop framing a renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz as something that clashes with diplomacy.

Instead, the media are to present the move as part of a coordinated Iranian strategy. The guidance says editors should describe pressure in the strait and the negotiations as one integrated approach, rather than as a conflict between Iran’s military-security establishment and the team handling the talks with Washington.

The instructions also say the military steps in the Strait of Hormuz should be portrayed as supporting, not replacing, negotiations with the Americans. Officials want the public narrative to make clear that the government is combining military pressure with diplomacy to strengthen Iran’s bargaining position and increase its leverage at the table.

The directive further orders the media not to treat the very existence of negotiations as evidence that Tehran is retreating or acting from weakness. The report says the regime is trying to project complete coordination between its military and political arms, and to ensure that any move in the field is seen as part of a carefully planned strategy, not an internal power struggle.